"I Cans" A Test Prep Craftivity

I know what you are thinking! You are thinking that it is only a few days before “THE TEST” and you don’t have time for a test prep “craftivity”. 

Trust me, I know all too well that high stakes testing season has begun! At schools all over the country students are diligently darkening bubbles with number 2 pencils and pounding away at computer keyboards as they practice for “the big test”.

I know exactly how it feels because I have been preparing students for “THE TEST” every year of my adult life. I know the drill! We practice, give pep talks, tell the kids that testing is their day to shine, and review, then review more. As teachers we tell our students not to stress, then we lay awake wondering if we really covered angle types sufficiently or if the students really got the author’s purpose lesson we so carefully crafted. 

Last year was a game changer for me. My own daughter took “THE TEST” (I blogged about it and wrote her a letter here, about testing here). While I believe in preparation and teaching kids to do their best, I also realized we need to do MORE to encourage and uplift our students. Especially our youngest learners. 

One of the major ways I do this is by making “I Cans”. It is a can shaped mailbox, covered with “eyes” and the letter “I”. Get it? It is an ”I Can”. (See the picture below.) 

Each morning before testing the students place the “I Cans” on their desk. It is then filled with encouraging messages. The students LOVE getting messages and it really helps take the pressure of the test off!

I send a template of the “I Can” messages home for parents to fill out a few weeks before the test. I also write an “I Can” message each day, I have the principal write a daily message, and I recruit other staff members to write messages (I have each person write 1 message that I copy it for the class.) If time permits I even allow kids to write message to one another (I check all messages and usually assign a few classmates to each child so no one is left out.) I like to get as many people involved as possible (special area teachers, custodians, or any person who has a connection to the students). 

The “I Can” messages really lighten the mood. After students have finished reading the messages I take up the “I Cans” because (GULP) nothing but the test book and a #2 pencil can be on their desk. I put the cans in an area of the room where students can still see them.

A parent recently told me her child saved all his “I Can” messages from 4th grade. She said that she found the strips of paper that had filled his can for years after he was in my class and that every time he read one he smiled. After hearing that I created a template for making “I Cans” and “I Can” messages. It is free (and will always be) free in my Teachers Pay Teachers. If you have a few minutes and some card stock paper this is a “craftivity” you students will never forget! Click on the "I Cans below to download this freebie!

A Letter to My Daughter About Testing

My daughter was pale and shaking. My friend mouthed, “Is she going to cry?” I shrugged unsure of what to do. For a moment I felt like I was sending her off to a den of wolves, instead of off to her classroom to take our state's "big test". I have been teaching since 1998 and have pretty much administered one high stakes test or another every single year. I have been preparing students for testing and nurturing them through test anxiety for my entire adult life, but this was different. All the encouraging words that I have said to students and parents over the years came flooding back to me, but they seemed different now that it was my daughter. This time it was personal.

I gave her a big hug and a pep talk and sent her off on her way. I headed off to proctor the test in another classroom. All day I could not stop thinking about all the things I could have said and wanted her to know. I assumed that my laid back “you are prepared, you can do it, do your best” attitude would help her understand that while the test is important today, all the things that make her the person she is are the most important. After really searching my soul I knew I wanted to tell her more. That evening I went home and wrote this letter to give to her before testing.

To My Daughter,

      Today you are taking “the big test”. It is your day to shine and show what you know and can do! Approach it like you approach all things; opt in, rock it, and do your personal best. Please know that I believe in you.

      A few months from now we will get the results of the test. It will tell us some information about how you did this day. It might show us some areas where you excel, some areas where you are right where you need to be, and some things that you are still working to master. It will show how you did on a test, over a few days of your life this year. If your life was a scrapbook, this would be one picture in it. It tells one small part of the story of you.

     There are so many things this test can not measure. It will not measure the kindness in your heart, your leadership skills, or your ability to be a good friend. It can not possibly tell what an amazing sister, daughter, and person you are growing up to be. It will not show the soccer goals you scored, the gymnastics skills you have worked so hard to master, or the flips you can do in the swimming pool. Your test results can not possibly measure your imagination, the creative way you solve real world problems, or the epic blanket forts you make on rainy days. It will not measure your capacity to love and do good things for others, to make a difference in the world, or to dream about your future. The test results will show some things, but they do not measure the things that make you who you are, the things that make our heart swell with pride and love; the smiles, laughter, friendships, and love that you will carry in your heart on your journey towards adulthood. The things that really matter.

     The test today is important, but it is one piece in a giant puzzle. So do your best on the test, but more importantly live your best life everyday because that is the real “test”.

Love,

Mom